Why Cite Your Sources

Why do you need to cite the sources you use for your papers?*

1. Your professors expect you to read about the research of
others, and to bring together their ideas in such a way that makes
sense to you and will make sense to your readers. Therefore, it's
essential for you to cite your sources in any research paper you write.
The academic reasons for doing so are to give credit to those who have
done the original research and written the article or book, and to
allow readers (your professors) to look at them if needed to find out
if you have properly understood what the author was trying to say.

2.
On a practical level, citing your sources is a way to show that you've
done the assignment. If your paper contains no citations, the
implication is that you have done a piece of original research, but
that probably was not the assignment. Citations (along with the
bibliography) show that you have consulted a variety of resources as
the assignment required. They're also an acknowledgement of your
indebtedness to those authors.

3. So don't feel you need to hide the fact that you're drawing from one of your sources. That's what it's all about.

There are quite a few
different ways to cite resources in your paper. The citation style
sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities

APA (American Psychological Associastion) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences

Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business and the Fine Arts

You will need to consult with your professor to determine what is required in your specific course.

General Styles

MLA handbook for writers of research papers by Joseph Gibaldi

ISBN: 1603290249

The various citation manuals found below are available from the Reserves Roombehind the Circualtion Desk in the library. You may check out one and use itin the library. Or access information provided in the tabs above - for each type of citation style.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Society

ISBN: 1433805618

The Chicago manual of style by University of Chicago Press Staff

ISBN: 0226104206

The SBL Handbook of Style

ISBN: 156563487X

American Sociological Association Style Guide

ISBN: 0912764317

Scientific style and format : the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers

Sources for More Information

Subject Guide

Unofficial Citation Software

The following citation software options are only suggestions for
those individuals who looking for an alternative to our other libguide suggestions. The
downloadable software has not been tested. The online citation generators have been tested but only
for basic accuracy (e.g., a one author book and journal article have
been tested but not a book with an editor or a conference proceeding),
so please use these sources at your own discretion.